Juna ran on all fours, her hands and feet hitting the dirt in a rhythm that came as naturally as breathing.
The monster ahead of her was a boar-like thing with coarse bristles and two Shards orbiting its tusks, crashing through the underbrush while she kept pace just a few steps behind.
'Why does this feel so different,' she thought, feeling the wind rush past her ears while her muscles moved with a strength she didn't recognize.
In her old life she had been just a normal beastkin, fast enough to hunt small game and quick enough to run from things she couldn't fight, but she had never felt power like this.
Her body felt lighter, sharper, every step carrying her further than it should have and her claws tearing into the soil with enough force to leave deep grooves.
And then there was the weight on her back, a single wing of faint golden light unfolding behind her shoulder blades while she ran, shifting and folding with every movement she made.
'What even is this wing thing,' she thought, watching it flex and catch the air, glowing brighter with every stride. 'It feels like part of me but I've never had anything like this.'
The boar ahead suddenly changed direction, its hooves kicking up dirt as it spun around and charged straight at her while she was still lost in thought. She barely registered the movement before the massive shape filled her vision, tusks aimed right at her chest.
'Crap,' she thought, her body locking up as the distance closed too fast. 'I messed up, I wasn't paying attention.'
A boot slammed into the boar's side before she could move, sending it tumbling sideways into a tree with a heavy crack.
Hajin landed in a crouch between her and the monster, turning his head just enough to check on her. "You alright?"
She sat back on her heels, blinking at the spot where the boar had been, her heart finally catching up to the near miss.
"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head to clear the last of the shock while pushing herself back to her feet. "Thank you for saving me."
"No big deal," he said, already stepping out of the way and giving her a small nod toward the tree. "Go on, give it hell."
The words hit her differently than she expected, simple and casual but carrying enough weight to make something in her chest tighten. She dropped into a low stance, her claws digging into the dirt while her muscles coiled tight.
The boar groaned, shaking its head and pushing itself up from the crater it had made in the tree trunk, bristles twitching as it turned its bloodied snout toward her.
She didn't wait for it to fully stand.
She launched forward, pushing off the ground with everything she had, and the moment she was in the air, mana surged through her arms and her claws extended into sharp, glowing blades that caught the light.
The boar barely had time to react before she landed on its face, her claws tearing through flesh and bone with a wet crunch that sent blood and bristles flying in every direction.
It thrashed a few times then collapsed heavily to the ground without making another sound.
Hajin stood where he was, watching the whole thing, his eyes locked on the mess she had just made while his brain tried to catch up.
'Wait, her panel only showed one skill,' he thought, staring at the glowing claws that were slowly retracting back to normal. 'I swear she only had hunter's nose. So where did that come from?'
She hadn't used any skill activation, just pure instinct and mana shaping itself through her hands.
'Did she just learn that on the spot?' he thought, feeling a little stunned. 'That's insane, is this what they call a genius?'
Juna stood over the dead boar and stared at her hands, slowly opening and closing her fingers while blood dripped from her claws to the ground. The glow faded completely, but the feeling of power still sat in her arms like it was waiting for her to use it again.
'Is this because he summoned me?' she thought, rubbing her thumb over her palm. 'Is this one of the benefits of being summoned?'
She looked at Hajin from the corner of her eye, then back at her hands while her ears twitched once.
'I never heard of a summoner who can summon beastkin,' she thought, swallowing once. 'And dead souls too... what kind of summoner even does that?'
The smell coming off him reached her again when the wind shifted, clean and strange in a way that still didn't match any human she knew.
'This human is really weird,' she thought, her chest feeling tight for reasons she didn't want to name. 'But maybe...'
She cut the thought off, turned back to him, and raised two fingers with a small smile.
"Easy work," she said, flashing him a peace sign.
He almost laughed and lifted a hand toward her.
"You did really-"
The boar's corpse jerked upright behind her before he could finish, its neck bent wrong and blood pouring from its face while its dead eyes locked on her.
"Juna, watch out!"
Everything slowed down for him in that second, the words tearing out of his throat while she started to turn, but it was already too late.
Its paw slammed into her side with brutal force, launching her through the air like a rag doll, then she hit a tree with devastating force, enough to make the trunk crack.
Blood burst from her mouth when she dropped to the ground, one hand clutching her side while the other dug into the dirt, trying to stay awake through pure stubbornness.
'What just happened?' she thought, her vision blurring at the edges while pain spread through her ribs and chest in hot waves.
She heard him shouting her name and saw him sprinting toward her, his face tight with panic she had never seen on him before.
Then the world tilted, the trees smearing together as darkness rushed in, passing out before he reached her.
Hajin continued sprinting toward her, panic still spreading in his chest, but before he could even get close, the boar lurched sideways and cut him off before he could reach her.
It slammed both front legs into the ground, sending dirt flying upward, forcing him to jump back and slide to a stop with his teeth clenched.
'What the hell is this?' he thought, eyes locked onto the bear while its body twitched in ugly pulses. 'That monster was definitely dead.'
He looked it over and saw something that made his whole mood sour. Three Shards were orbiting its tusks now, one more than before, spinning faster while dark mana rolled off its body in rough waves.
'Dammit,' he thought, tightening his jaw. 'It's going through an evolution? This is bad.'
He snapped his hand out and summoned his cheap sword, then swung it once through the air with one hand while setting his stance.
"I have to finish this quick before it fully evolves into a three-Shard."